Breast supporter



Feb. 20, 1934. v 1 B, NO 'ES 1,948,076

BREAST SUPPORTER Filed Aug. 9. 1955 v I fiuevfir: Bernard Mk6,

Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to breast supporters to be worn for a period before and/or after child-birth such as during puerperium and/or during the nursing period and which will have the advantages of forming an eifective support for the lactating breasts and will exert but a slight compression upon the breasts, thereby affording the wearer a maximum amount of comfort. It will be understood, however, that the present supporter may be worn by patients whose breasts need special care for reasons other than child bearing, as for example in the case of congested breasts or otherwise diseased breasts.

In the treatment of diseased breasts or of lactating breasts it is important to minimize the compression of the breasts and still to provide a firm and positive lifting efiect upon the breasts. The present invention therefore embodies a supporter which is self-adjusting to any position of the breasts, which the patient finds the more comfortable, and which nevertheless serves to hold the breasts in the desired position, in that it supports and prevents the breasts from dropping to a lower and less desirable position; this being accomplished without any undue compression of the breasts.

The present invention also provides a supporter which is self-adjustable to patients of different size and weight and over a large range of size of breasts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a breast supporter of the type described which will be readily adjustable to the constantly changing size and shape of the lactating breasts, without exerting any undue compression upon the breasts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a breast supporter of the type described which is simple in construction, and may be readily manipulated to provide ready access ,to one or the other breast during the nursing period.

For this purpose the breast supporter constituting the present invention is made of a band of elastic cloth of the type having great elasticity longitudinally of the band, the ends of the band being connected by a readily manipulatable and sliding connection of the zipper type. The result is a circular band or supporter 50 having great circular elasticity and having substantially no elasticity in the transverse direction. This supporter, while simple in construction, is effective for the reason that it readily adapts itself to the contour of the breasts and also readily adapts itself to the changes in size and shape of the lactating breasts.

I have found that a supporter consisting simply of a band of cloth commonly known in the trade as lastex cloth and having for its longitudinal thread a spirally cotton wound round squirted rubber yarn and woven together with a transverse yarn of any type desired affords the maximum of comfort for'the wearer. While the dimensions of this band may be varied as desired, I have found that a band of such cloth 28 inches long and 8 inches wide may be worn with great comfort by substantially all patients. This is due to the fact that such cloth is highly elastic and the supporter therefore adapts itself to the many sizes and shapes of lactating breasts.

Having described the main objects of my invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawing constituting a part of this application and which illustrates one specific embodiment of the present invention, it being understood, however, that this specific embodiment is not to constitute a limitation upon the present invention and that many variations of the specific form of the invention, falling within the scope of the appended claims, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 represents a patient wearing the breast supporter;

Figure 2 is a front view of the supporter;

Figure 3 is a detail section on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section similar to Figure 3 of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 5 shows an enlarged detail.

In the drawing 5 designates the supporter band made of lastex cloth and it will be understood that it consists merely of a band of such material of uniform width, preferably 8 inches and approximately 28 inches long. Reference character 6 designates the two cooperating halves of the readily detachable fastener, each of these elements comprising the strip of woven cloth 7 for attachment to the ends of the band of lastex. The strips '7 are sewed along the lines 8 and 9 to the corresponding end of the band 5 and preferably along the outer face thereof.

Thelines of stitching 8 and 9 are disposed near the end of the band 5 and are preferably spaced from the end of the band a distance sufficient to permit the band to extend to the outer edge of the corresponding element 6 and if desired, may even be made to extend slightly beyond this edge. It will be understood, therefore, that when the present supporter is worn by the patient the portions 10 of the band are disposed behind the connector 6 and the strip 7, thereby eliminating the possibility of contact of the metallic parts of the connector with the bare skin.

Stitching 11 at the top and bottom of portions 10 may be employed for the purpose of preventing these portions from turning back 12 and thereby serve to prevent the complete removal of the slidable element 13 which serves to close and open the connector. Each of the strips 7 is also provided at the upper end thereof with astop' element 14 which prevents the .complete removal of the slidable element at the other end.

In the form shown in Figure 4 one strip 7 is attached to the front face of the band and the other strip is attached to -the inner face of the other end of the .band. Each endis provided with the inturned extension 15 as shown, and each extension is long enough to cover the connector. These overlapping portions 15 may be made of the same material as the supporter or they may be made .of another material which is stitched onto the front face of the compressor by the same lines of stitching 8 and 9 and at the same time that the strips 7 are attached thereto In this construction the metallic portion of the connector as well as the slidable element 13 is hidden from view and therefore the present supporter does not offer to view any unsightly parts. I

In use the present supporter is slipped over the head of the patient and disposed around the chest in such a manner that the connector is placed anterior to the sternum. With the slidable element 13 at the bottom the patient can reach the breasts to lift them to the most comfortable position and then the slidable element is slowly moved upwardly. The breasts are, of

1 course, lifted by. this supporter onto the anterior chest wall and with the further closing of the zipper the breasts are lifted upwards. The cloth employed in the present supporter is porous and does not obstruct circulation; it is capable of being stretched approximately seventy-five to one hundred percent of its origi- ,nal lengthwith the result that the supporter is able to follow the constantly changing size and shape of the lactating breasts. The cloth is flexible and yieldable and the nipples of the breast are therefore not compressed and not subjected to any discomfort.

The supporter as disclosed herein has great elasticity in the horizontal direction and no elasticity in the vertical direction. This serves to produce the maximum of support and lift for the breasts. It will be understood however, that a material having some elasticity in the vertical direction may also be employed provided the vertical elasticity is relatively small as compared with the horizontal elasticity. The best results however are obtained when the supporter is substantially nonelastic in the vertical direction.

The nursing mother can lower the slidable element 13, lift the breast for nursing and by the proper adjustment of the element 13 the flap serves to support the breast while nursing.

The slidable element 13 is provided with a lug 16 which serves to lock it in any desired position.

I claim:

1. A supporter for lactating breasts consisting of an oblong shaped band of material having a high elasticity in the longitudinal direction and relatively inelastic in the transverse direction, the longitudinal elasticity being subalong the entire width thereof and converting the same into a circular band, and having means for permanently connecting the lower corners of the ends of the band, said connector being so disposed that it is operable upwards to close the band and downward to open the same, whereby the hand offers positive support and lift for the breasts without any undue compression.

2. A supporter for lactating breasts consisting of an oblong shaped band of material having a high elasticity in the longitudinal direction and relatively inelastic in the transverse direction, the longitudinal elasticity being substantially uniform across the width of the band, and an adjustable connector of the slidable type and arranged to connect the ends of the band along the entire width thereof and converting the same into a circular band, and having means for connecting the lower corners of' the ends of the band, said connector being so disposed that it is operable upwards to close the band and downward to open the same, whereby the'band offers positive support and lift for the breasts without any undue compression. BERNARD NOTES. 

